THE FOLLOWING IS A VERMILION COUNTY STATE’S ATTORNEY’S OFFICE RELEASE
People v. Lester Winters, Jr. 2024-CF-223
On August 12, 2025, Lester Winters, Jr. (DOB: 10/7/1992), formerly of Danville, Illinois, pleaded guilty to Dissemination of Child Pornography by a Sex Offender, a class X felony and was sentenced to 20 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Winters also pleaded guilty to Possession of Child Pornography by a Sex Offender, a class 1 felony, and was sentenced to 10 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections; sentences to be served consecutively. The plea and sentencing hearing were presided over by Judge Karen Wall.
The People presented evidence that on April 10, 2024, Illinois State Police Zone 5 Criminal Investigations received a CyberTip report of a child pornographic video that had been uploaded to Google. Through the course of the investigation, law enforcement identified Lester Winters as the user associated with the Google account and email address attached to the CyberTip. A forensic analysis of Winters’ cell phone subsequently revealed multiple images depicting nude minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Law enforcement determined that Winters not only possessed child pornographic material, but had also disseminated the child pornographic material
through an application on his phone.
State’s Attorney Jacqueline Lacy thanked the Illinois State Police for their work to seek justice in this case. She added, “Child pornography is documented abuse and exploitation of real children. Every time these images are shared, the victim is re-victimized. Criminals who possess and distribute this material fuel a cycle of abuse. My office remains committed to prosecuting these criminals in order to protect the most vulnerable members of our community.”
